


Kidnapped!

by KamenRiderW



Category: Kamen Rider OOO, Kamen Rider W (Double)
Genre: F/M, Love, M/M, OC character - Freeform, So sorry Shotaro, mentions of torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-11
Updated: 2016-04-07
Packaged: 2018-05-06 05:48:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5405324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KamenRiderW/pseuds/KamenRiderW
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Philip (Sonazaki Raito) didn't understand humans. He as... always going to be a data human working for Museum. But when Philip get's away, he can live a new life. Well, that's until he's kidnapped by men he hasn't ever met before. Then, he's thrown into a holding cell with another man he hadn't ever met before. Hidari Shotaro.</p><p>Shotaro had went to America for a month to help with the Dopant problem, but during a battle he loses both the Lost Driver and the Double Driver. Then he's taken by the Red Lotus. Who would have guessed that his little brother Kengo Hidari was the leader of the Red Lotus? Now, Shotaro must deal with torture of the worst kinds and many, many months later a boy/man is thrown to him to take care of. Can Shotaro protect Philip from Kengo's ruthlessness, or will they both end up dead at his hand?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! My newest fanfiction, but I don't know how many chapters its going to have.

Everyone said college was some amazing thing in someone’s life. Not when you’re of Japanese decent and a foreigner in America. Not when you can’t go home to your family because they are evil, and doing evil, evil things. The only exception being Wakana-neesan who was Philip’s only friend in the world. She was the only thing that kept Philip as close to human as he could get. College isn’t amazing if you’re supposed to be dead and the love you wish someone would feel for you wasn’t in existence. Not when you were on the run from an evil organization and you didn’t know where you were, what was going on, and why you had to be the victim. Not when you’re just a data reconstruction of a human body, not the real flesh and blood thing. That’s why he buried himself in his research, it usually drowned out the loneliness. It was better. If he played the part of being a machine, a flesh and bone search engine no one noticed. Philip enjoyed the research, but not the darkness. Not the loneliness he always felt. He constantly felt incomplete and he didn’t know what it meant. If he were human, he was sure he’d know.

Philip yawned and checked his watch. 1:00 am. He put down his dry erase marker and studied his notes. Mexico was very interesting and Philip wished he could visit it soon. Futo had always been freezing cold or boiling hot compared to Mexico’s constant tropical weather. Philip dropped his book and left his work area. On his small dorm-issued bed laid a newspaper. He’d read it already, of course, along with two entries from the 1800’s. Something about American officials giving up on the search for a man who had been kidnapped many months back. Had it been 6? 7 months? It didn’t really matter to Philip.

Philip shuffled over to his personal coffee maker and opened up his cupboard. He pulled out the container of coffee grounds from Folgers and opened the little black lid. Nothing. He was out of coffee grounds! Panic. He’d have to settle with tea. Until he remembered that he had run out of that months ago and never had replenished it. Thank god Wal-Mart was open 24/7 and Philip didn’t have regular acceptable sleeping hours. He grabbed his red boots and a few U.S. dollars from his jar then he shuffled out the door. Philip found that he should have brought a flashlight minutes later, since the moon wasn’t out. Interesting, he thought to himself, a new moon. It was dark as it could be. Philip clutched his duster closer to himself, it was colder than he had estimated. Decembers were freezing in America. Philip all but hurried up and jogged to the closest Wal-Mart. He made his purchase quickly and left within a few minutes.

Philip was nearing college grounds when a black van pulled up to him. The driver rolled down their window revealing an Asian man with graying hair, roughly near his 50’s.

“Need a ride sweet heart?” The man asked in a sickly sweet voice.

“No thank you,” Philip answered, disgusted, as he speed up his walk.

“Are you not Sonazaki Raito?”

“I am,” Philip answered coldly. This man sure was annoying. “What do you want?”

It wasn’t for a few more seconds when Philip noticed the mistake he had made. Only members, the highest, of Museum knew his real name Raito. Or even his existence. After all, he was a slave all of his life to make Gaia Memories. Oh and the enemies of Museum who wanted his brain. He was such an idiot, someone of his intelligence should have not made that mistake.

The doors to the van opened and two mean dressed in black climbed out. Philip cursed and dropped his plastic bag of coffee before turning and running away. Philip may have been unnaturally scrawny, but he wasn’t slow. He dodged into an alleyway, figuring out his direction. If he passed onto Jefferson Street in exactly 9.8 seconds he’d lose the 2nd guy. That left the first man equipped with an AK-47 coming around on Washington. No matter which direction Philip went, the man would run into him. Check mate, but if Philip was able to collide with the man hard enough… he could knock the man down. Philip would be home free. He didn’t have the extra weight though. Suddenly a gunshot echoed from above his head and something sharp stuck in his back. He stumbled. A sniper had been above him. No, it wasn’t a bullet wound; it was a needle from a dart gun. What were dart guns again? Sleep? Squirrels were…enemy. Run away? Sleep? Sleep. Then he fell face first into the pavement and didn’t stir.

 

Philip stirred after awhile. When he tried to move his arms he found that they were tied. Tightly, probably leaving a nasty cut in his flesh. His feet were tied as well with handcuffs. E attempted to wiggle from the restraints but found he could not.

“You’re ours now, Raito,” the driver said looking at him through the rearview mirror.

“Are you Museum?” Philip asked trying to read the man’s face. “Or are you an enemy of Museum?”

“I would never work with those… monsters. Museum killed my family. My little sister to!” A man in red leather hissed. He was of Japanese decent with a square, sharp jaw and black short hair.

“Enemies. Interesting. Where are you taking me?” Philip answered confidently.

“Shut up or we’ll drug ya again,” the driver said.

Philip thought for a second and entered Planetary Bookshelf. He quickly found the names of the men who had kidnapped him.

“Red Lotus? Funny name. You’re Terui Ryu, son of a common man in Futo. You’re name is Larry, how uninteresting. Kengo Hidari, let me guess, Japan?” Philip rattled off.

“Shut up and don’t ask us questions,” Terui Ryu hissed.

“Don’t have to. So Kengo, I heard your brother Shotaro disappeared. Did he run away from you?” Philip laughed darkly.

Kengo turned towards him and smiled cruelly. “You’ll see what happened to him sweetheart. You two are going to be roommates.”

Philip’s stomach dropped. He knew what they were going to do to him now. Not only would they torture him, but his father wouldn’t come and help bail him out. Not after he ran away and betrayed the Sonazaki’s. Not to mention whoever Hidari Shotaro was, he was probably some fat, disgusting man that Philip would have to live with. Hundreds of scenarios passed through his mind of the possible man Hidari would be like. The least being an attractive, half-boiled, sweet man, because face it, those were rare. Plus, Philip’s luck was crap. Philip wasn’t a complete machine, he did long for a partner to. Someone who could… romantically take interest in him. Human contact that didn’t hurt him and make him cry. Wakana taught him the things he wished he would have never learned at all. There was a considerable difference between feeling things and knowing no one could truly love you because you weren’t human. Philip used to be the devil, he still was, but less heartless. Deep down in the darkest part of his amazing complex brain, was a wish to die. A cold depression in the form of a woman’s voice telling him that she loved him. A warmth he had never felt since he was younger. It was dark, and he had these emotions he didn’t know how to handle. He wished that someone would just kill him already, it would be more merciful. He had an animalistic need to live, of course, but it wasn’t like he wanted to. He had no friends, no home, no family, no life in those terms.

One step at a time, Raito, that’s what Wakana always told him. He wasn’t an object, remember his true self. Wakana wasn’t here anymore, you fool. She can’t protect you. Philip curled up into a ball and closed his eyes from the tears threatening to spill. Fear consumes even the most heartless monsters. The devils of this world.


	2. Chapter 2: Eight months earlier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eight months ago, Shotaro finds himself with the same fate as Philip. But darker.

Hidari Shotaro was flung back into wall and his transformation fizzled out leaving behind a bloody figure. The Boss’s last gift to him, the Double Driver, slid out of his jacket and to the enemy. His own lost driver detached itself from his waist. On a last seconds thought he threw the driver underneath a pile of bricks and debris. It’d be safe for now. Blood slowly dripped down his forearms and his forehead. His enemy approached as a large horse dopant. Shotaro covered his head as it brought down a club over his head and his world went black.

                Shotaro awoke tied to a chair; a blinding light was in his face. His head ached but he couldn’t tell if it was from his wounds or his pride. Bruises littered his body, ugly black and blue colors. He struggled against his bonds, attempting to wiggle out of them, but they didn’t budge.

                “You’re not going anywhere,” a man said as he walked into the room. He had greasy black hair combed back, an expensive suit on and a black top hat. “I am Lee Xien, an associate of the Red Lotus.”

                “The people who want me dead to help Museum huh?” Shotaro snarled.

                “Lee looked surprised. “What an insult.”

                “Then why do you have me tied up?”

                “Because I want the location of your lost driver. I also want the secret to the Double Driver. They say that two minds can become one… but it doesn’t work. Museum’s era is over, it’s my turn to rule this world,” Kengo Hidari hissed as he came in the door. “Gaia Memories are powerful; they give you such amazing strength. With your driver, I could rule the world.”

                “Kengo, don’t! Gaia Memories are evil, cursed things. They corrupt you, they corrupt your brain… they make you into a brainless monster,” Shotaro pleaded with his little brother.

                “Then give me the lost driver that Narumi Sokichi gave you. Give it to me and I’ll drop the memory. I want the Joker memory, I have the rest here. Luna, Trigger, Metal, Heat, and Cyclone.” Kengo demanded.

                Shotaro recalled that horrible day when the two had failed to save the Child of Fate. Ultimately, the Boss had been shot, died, leaving Shotaro alone. He had the Narumi Agency and the Lost Driver. Then there was the mystery of the Double Driver. A driver supposedly to combine two minds into one. Shotaro didn’t believe it, but that’s what the Boss had said. He’d also told Shotaro that someday he’d meet his ultimate partner, someone who equaled Shotaro in every possible way. That special partner would be the right side to W and they’d become an ultimate fighting machine. Shotaro couldn’t give that up, not even to Kengo. People’s lives depended on it.

                “I’m sorry, Kengo,” Shotaro replied evenly. “I refuse to give it to you.

                “You bastard!” Kengo spat in his face before punching him square in the jaw. “Give it to me! GIVE IT TO ME NOW. If you don’t give me the fucking driver…”

                Shotaro squeezed his eyes shut. “I can’t give it to you. People depend on both.”

                “Then we’ll break you. Stand him up!” Kengo ordered, looking Shotaro in the eye with a vicious glint.

                Shotaro’s legs were cut from the chair, his arms slipped from their confines. They dragged him to a hanging rope where they tied his arms up, slightly off the ground. Then they laid into him. Blow after blow until Shotaro couldn’t even see anymore. He refused to see. This wasn’t Shotaro’s brother anymore. This was what the Gaia Memory had produced. Someone inside Kengo, was his scared little brother. He would find him… and save him. He had to. Shotaro unfocused his eyes and went to a happy place as his body was cut into. His blood dripped onto the ground below him, pooling at his feet.

                After his beatings, he was shoved into a shower cell. Cold water was dumped over his head and he spluttered out pure soap. His wounds burned, the newest ones even worse. Then a second bucket of water was dumped over his head and the soap was washed away. He was pulled from the stall stripped of his drenched clothes and left naked and shivering as the men threw him three items. A white t-shirt, white drawstring pants, and white boxers.

                “You’re going to be here for awhile, and I want to see the blood when we torture you,” was Kengo’s only explanation. Then Shotaro was half drug down into a basement where he was thrown through a steel door and rolled down a set of stairs. The pain was unbearable. The room he was put in was small, just four stone walls. At the top of the wall were tiny windows where sunlight streamed into the room warming Shotaro slightly. On the left side of the room was a small cot covered by a thin blanket. On his right, a steel door led to a disgusting bathroom. It could have been worse.

                For the next months, Shotaro slept during the day and occasionally during the night. He sat by the windows to get Vitamin D as his body deteriorated. The muscles he used to have were rapidly disappearing. His attempts at multiple escapes proved fruitless. His cruel beatings came everyday and Shotaro still wouldn’t give up. He was stronger than that; he was after all, the Boss’s pupil. But how long would this torture last?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shotaro and Philip finally meet in the darkness of their holding cell.

Philip woke as he was being half carried, half dragged down a long corridor. Philip noticed that his colorful clothes were gone in place where white pajamas. Just like before. His hair hand un his eyes once more, his binder clips were missing.

                “You sure you want to put him in the same room as Hidari?” A man asked.

                “Its what Kengo wanted. Knowing that poor man, he’ll become protective or attached to this one. Kengo’s not stupid, he knows how to break Shotaro,” another man answered, their faces covered.

                “Do you think that Kengo’s torture sessions…”

                “… weren’t meant to break Shotaro? I do. Kengo is sick and twisted, if he can torture someone he’d do it. I know… knew Shotaro back before all this ever happened, we used to be comrades. I know Shotaro won’t break from pain, he’ll break from his own feelings. A man who wears his heart on his sleeve is going to get hurt,” the second man answered and Philip noticed that he was wearing red leather. It was the same man from before.

                “You knew Hidari before?”

                “Yeah, he’s a good man. He doesn’t deserve this… but my wife, Akiko, was in danger from the Red Lotus. I had no other choice but to betray Shotaro,” Terui Ryu answered.

                The two continued to drone on but Philip ignored them. He instead concentrated on the growing steel door in front of him. It was going to be dark in there. He started shaking. It was just like his old room, completely… cold and dark.

                “Please don’t!” Philip cried. “Not there!”

                “Stop struggling and shut up,” Terui hissed. ‘It’s not like we want to do this,” Terui brought out a key and unlocked the lock. Then he pulled open the door and pushed Philip in before slamming it shut behind him. Philip shivered at the coldness and stared down into the darkness. Suddenly, a man appeared in the moonlight and Philip could see his eyes. That’s all he could see, but they weren’t hostile or threatening. They were warm, reassuring.

                “You’re a prisoner here to?” Hidari Shotaro asked, causing Philip to shiver for a different reason. He had a pleasing, deep voice.

                “Yeah, I am,” Philip answered quickly.

                “You’re scared,” Shotaro observed. “You’re going to be ok, ok? Its cold and dark right now, but it’ll get lighter and more warm. Trust me.”

                Philip felt peace settle over him and he descended the darkened stairs. He stubbornly tried forcing that emotion down. He had gotten to the last step when his bare foot caught the wooden step and he fell. Warm hands shot out and wrapped around his waist and caught him before he hit the ground.

                “Whoa, don’t kill yourself. I’m not that bad of a guy,” Shotaro joked.

                However Philip couldn’t speak, his mouth was to dry. The universe had FINALLY done something right for him. Shotaro Hidari was no old, bald man. He wasn’t ugly either. Shotaro Hidari was in every term, hot, or at least that’s what Wakana taught him for very attractive men. His facial structure was sharp, angular even, but not unpleasantly so. He had deep, searching brown eyes and plump, full lips. His skin looked so smooth, as if he hadn’t had any facial hair ever. He was older than Philip, maybe 3 to 4 years. That didn’t really bother him though. He was of Eastern Asian descent had had long, dark brown hair. The curls looked natural, framing his face perfectly. His skin color was darker, but Philip didn’t have much reference to that after all he was as pale as the moon. Philip’s eyes wandered to the open front of his shirt where at least four buttons were unbuttoned. He gulped and tried not letting that distract him. He was really thin and Philip could see the outline of his ribs, although it didn’t ruin his image. He had been there for awhile. That’s when Philip noticed how sharp his bones angled outwards. Hundreds of welts, bruises, cuts, scars, and scabs littered his body and Philip concluded that he was in fact tortured. His touch though, Philip had never been affected like he was. It was… nice. When Shotaro let go, however. He liked having that embrace around him. Philip mentally scolded himself, he shouldn’t be so worthless and mushy in wake of this man.

                Philip hated being touch, it made him very uncomfortable. He had grown up as the Sonazaki’s tool to make Gaia Memories. They had treated him like a living machine, no loving embraces were given to him even though he was their son. Or, Ryubee’s son and Wakana and Saeko’s brother. Philip learned to fear when those people embraced him, because they were going to hurt him. Yet, when this man touched him instead of fear, Philip wanted more from him. That made him fear himself.

                “What’s your name?” Shotaro asked as he nervously ran a hand through his amazing hair. “I’m… uh Hidari Shotaro.”

                “P-Philip,” Philip answered offering his hand to Shotaro. He assumed that the man was a gentleman and would shake his hand. He did and Philip found himself not able to let go.

                “No… last name?”

                Philip shook his head. “I never really had one.”

                Shotaro nodded as he put his back to the opposite side of the wall and slides down it. The man folded up his long limbs and put his head in his hands.

                “How long have you been here?” Philip asked.

                “I…I don’t know anymore. I lost track at six months.”

                “Its December now, so they caught you in June?” Philip offered.

                Shotaro shook his head as he flexed his fists. “No, I believe it was in April. Yeah April 12th I think.”

                Right when Philip escaped the Sonazaki mansion and fled to America.

                “You’ve been here for eight months?” Philip whispered. “They caught you in Futo, right?”

                “America actually. I left Futo… wait, how do you know of Futo?” Shotaro asked cautiously.

                “I lived there,” Partial truth. Philip had just followed his gut. It was no coincidence that Philip and Shotaro had been brought together. Not that Philip was complaining… because Shotaro was…very good. They had something connecting them two, and Futo had just been the common point. The timing was perfect, it was a trap. But for who? Philip hated not knowing things, and anything that came to his family or Museum, the library forbid him. When he said forbid, he meant blew up his face.

                “Really? I thought I would have seen you at least once…” Shotaro was cut off by a yawn. “…in my life.”

                Philip shook his head. “I don’t think you would have. I had a different name then. To… atone for those sins I changed myself, my life.”

                “I know how you feel,” Shotaro sighed as he leaned back against the wall and looked at the ceiling. “I have the Boss’s death to atone for.”

                Philip wobbled slightly like he was suddenly drained. Shotaro picked up on it immediately and jumped to his feet.

                “You should get some rest before I have to catch you again. You can have the bed,” Shotaro said.

                Philip shivered from the coldness. “What about you? Where are you going to sleep?”

                Shotaro’s eyes darkened. “I sleep early in the mornings.”

                Philip didn’t understand what Shotaro meant, but Philip was tired. He didn’t care. Sleeping and being knocked out were two different things. He curled up on the bed like a cat and fell asleep. Briefly during the night he felt Shotaro tuck him in before a door opened and he heard no more.


	4. Chapter 4

Shotaro approached Philip’s sleeping form. He had a few minutes before _they_ came. Another night of torture and pain. The game had changed though, Philip was what changed it. He was beautiful to Shotaro, perfect. Innocent but at the same time broken beyond repair. This was what the Boss had meant by Shotaro’s ultimate partner. Philip was one of a kind, and he was supposed to be Shotaro’s partner. He couldn’t help it but as soon as they touched, Shotaro had felt whole. Like now, with Philip in close proximity he felt whole again. He felt confident, his hope was returning. He couldn’t lose that, not now when they… did such horrible things to him. He couldn’t let them do the same to Philip. No matter what, he had to get Philip out of here… to protect him. Something deep down inside his gut told Shotaro that Philip had never been protected by someone. He tucked the thin blanket around the boy and ran his hand through his silky hair.

                “I’ll protect you,” Shotaro whispered. “You’re going to be ok.”

                He hadn’t been able to protect the Boss or the Child of Fate, but Philip, he’d get him back home. Then the steel door squealed open and bright light blinded Shotaro. Feet pounded down the stairs and rope was tied around his wrists once again. The already raw skin burned, but Shotaro didn’t fight back. 8 months of torture had taught him that.

                They dragged him away but Shotaro didn’t fight against the men. With one last glance at Philip’s sleeping form and then the door was shut behind him.

                Shotaro was drug down the hallway towards the room. It had been the same room that he had been tortured in for 8 long months. By now it was stained in his own blood. The door opened and a familiar man stood near the chains that would hold Shotaro. He couldn’t even look at the red leather wearing man without recoiling in disgust. He wasn’t his friend anymore.

                “Good evening Terui,” Shotaro snarled as they hooked his wrists up to the chains above his head.

                Terui refused to talk or look him in the eye. The man was a natural born coward.

                “What kind of torture will I go through tonight you bastard?” Shotaro spat at the man.

                “Oh quit goading Ryu-kun, Shotaro. It’s unbecoming of you,” Kengo sighed as he entered through the other steel door.

                “Yo Kengo,” Shotaro answered, completely unfazed. Many months ago, he had gotten used to being tortured.

                “Yo, Shotaro. This _is_ getting old, honestly. I never thought I’d get tired of torturing someone, but I have. All this pain could stop if you’d just give us what we want,” Kengo sighed as he put black gloves on. “Its just a simple driver and a secret. Surely you don’t owe the Boss this much.”

                Shotaro glared defiantly at Kengo. “It isn’t that I owe the Boss, it’s the innocent who will die if I give you what you scum bags wants.”

                “Why would you even care? They were never there for you when you needed them. Like now, in all these months no one has come to save you!” Kengo answered as if he were scolding a child.

                “No one has come to save me, because I have to prove how worthy I am of being Kamen Rider Joker. I must get myself out of here, not someone else,” Shotaro answered. “You have made this world cry, though, and you will pay for that.”

                “You know, you could just join us right? I’ll even spare your precious little roommate,” Kengo answered as he picked up a large butchers knife. Shotaro watched him sanitize it, the only kind thing he did for Shotaro, and didn’t say anything. Kengo looked up at him and smirked.

                “Oh, is Shotaro-niisan falling in _love_? You just met him! He’s precious, isn’t he? He’d be a good catch if you could get him to focus and commit to a relationship long enough. What an innocent little boy, I bet you like that. So you can taint him,” Kengo laughed cruelly as he trailed the sharp edge of the knife up and down Shotaro’s arm. “I’d like to destroy that cursed offspring. Rip his heart out or destroy him. Sadly, I cannot. See, he’s more than just eye candy, he’s a precious resource for Museum. IF you want to make Gaia Memories, you need the boy. You’re probably not interested in that… but he does intrigue you. I can tell that much.” Then Kengo brought the knife down and cut into his skin, causing Shotaro to recoil from the pain.

                “I bet you already feel protective of him and responsible for his safety, and you just met. I bet you’d crack if we tortured him to. Imagine him in these chains getting cut up like you. Wouldn’t that be nice, get your blood flowing. Hmm? Or are you ‘innocent’ to? Or imagine him seeing you so powerless at my hands and accepting the fate of being here till he dies because you couldn’t protect him.” Kengo laughed as he cut up more of Shotaro’s skin, the dark haired man’s blood dripping onto the floor below him.

                Shotaro looked him the eye. “Don’t you DARE touch him. Over my dead body, and if you do hurt him… I will kill you.”

                Kengo’s fist connected with Shotaro’s face. “Then. Tell. Me. Where. That. Damned. Driver. Is!” Each pause resulting in another punch to his face or his stomach. His vision fizzled out slightly and pain erupted in his head. Then he closed his eyes and imagined himself somewhere else. His happy place.

                Then he was back at the Agency, his precious fedora pulled low over his eyes. He sat at his desk again, his fingers flexing after writing a long case report. Akiko sat at the table with her husband, Terui Ryu, and the two were drinking coffee out of identical mugs. Akiko was randomly babbling and screeching in that annoying way of hers that Shotaro always laughed about. Suddenly, the door to the garage flew open and Philip came storming in with a black book covered in golden trim in hand. He wore bright colored clothes; a light blue shirt, a bluish plaid vest that reached to his knees and baggy green pants. He also wore bright red boots, an interesting fashion statement. The hair that hung in his face was pulled back by colorful binder clips on the right side. He looked even more stunning then and Shotaro’s heart almost stopped.

                “What’s all this noise about? You’re interrupting my research!” Philip complained.

                Shotaro laughed. “Ah, Aibou, we’re always interrupting your research.”

                Philip looked at him with his warm, brown eyes. “You don’t interrupt my research. She does.” Philip said pointing at Akiko.

                “Oi!” Then Philip was assaulted with Akiko’s green slipper, this time saying ‘Payback Time!’.

                Shotaro felt completely at peace. He could still feel the pain from Kengo’s torture, but it was far away. He was happy for once, and he smiled. He hadn’t smiled for a long time.

                “Why are you smiling?” He heard Kengo scream as a blow landed n his stomach sending Shotaro sliding back, the chains being the only thing keeping him up. T

                “Break damn it, just give up already!” Then Kengo was ripping up his back with a whip over and over the blows came. Philip was Shotaro’s hope now and he didn’t give up.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kengo's brilliant plan is unfolding, and he knows what he's doing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good Monday Phidari and Kamen Rider fans!!! Please excuse my bad spelling errors, sometimes I write to fast and miss them. Enjoy this next chapter as I hopefully pull your heartstrings! Also, this is a really short chapter so i'm posting 6 today as well! :D

“It wasn’t a good idea to introduce Philip to Hidari. You just gave him more hope. Shotaro’s going to become unbreakable,” one of Kengo’s followers advised.

                Kengo knew, though, what was happening. Shotaro was returning to himself, this was the Shotaro he knew. This was the Shotaro he enjoyed _playing_ with. His plan was coming together, oh so well, at this rate, Shotaro would be done soon. Kengo would WIN, it was just a matter of time. Kengo was very patient. Kengo knew Shotaro well, and Philip would become his breaking point.

                “Just like cancer, that hope will slowly destroy the body. Hidari Shotaro is a determined, unbreakable man. He doesn’t give up easily… but when its someone he loves in danger, well he’s a very compassionate man. That is what will destroy him, in the end,” Kengo answered calmly as held up a picture of Hidari Shotaro.

                “I don’t trust that this will work,” the man answered.

                “TIME is of essence. Shotaro’s feelings are growing for the human database. Shotaro soon won’t be able to ignore Philip when he’s in pain. He’ll be hopelessly in love with Philip, and then we’ll physically harm Philip. Just like that, Shotaro will give us what he wants to keep Philip safe. I know how Shotaro works.”

                “You’ve been planning this!”

                Kengo nodded. “I have watched Philip for awhile and I have been taking notes. Philip is the perfect half for Shotaro. He’s the exact opposite of Shotaro, less compassionate. That’s what will make Shotaro fall in love. Shotaro will break. Not by my methods, but by love. Love is what destroyed the greatest heroes.” Then Kengo ripped the picture in his hand in to two pieces.

                “Hidari Shotaro has already lost,” Kengo said as he scratched a match and set fire to the picture.

                Deep down inside Kengo was a monster. A creation of the Gaia Memory Infinity. Kengo was afraid of it, but humanity was disappearing rapidly and when he killed his older brother. When he killed Shotaro, took the lost driver, and destroyed Museum’s most valuable object, then the monster would be born and the world would be his. Or maybe he’d force Philip to Henshin with him and take over that brilliant mind. He would rise against Museum, Foundation X, and Dai Shocker. With the destruction of Hidari Shotaro and his enemies, the Kamen Riders would either fall to him or die by his hands.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shotaro and Philip bond as Philip patches Shotaro up as good as he can. Also, is Terui as evil as he seems?

Shotaro’s body hurt worse than it had ever done. Terui and Kyle were slow, for Shotaro’s sake, who limped severely. His balance was completely off but they carried his weight for him . It made him feel bad, because both hadn’t joined by choice but my threatening their loved ones. And Shotaro had been a total asshole to them, but still. For Terui, it had been Shotaro’s annoying little sister and he would have done the same thing for her.

                “This isn’t going to last forever, Hidari,” Terui said as he pushed Shotaro through the door. Shotaro stumbled, but he did not fall. Judging by the moonlight streaming through only one tiny window, it was early morning. Give or take 2 a.m. He’d been in there for over 4 hours. Shotaro felt tears start prickling his eyes from the pain, both emotional and physical. Shotaro limped down the wooden stairs. He sat down in the corner of the small room and brought his knees to his chest with a lot of difficulty. As soon as he pressed his back to the wall it stung and Shotaro clenched his teeth. Shotaro’s eyes found Philip asleep in the bed, curled up like a cat. Shotaro closed his eyes and let the boy’s light snore’s lull him to sleep.

 

                Shotaro was roughly shaken awake late the next morning. He slowly blinked his eyes open and stretched his stiff limbs and sore muscles. He couldn’t ignore how bad his back burned. What caught his attention though where the soft brown eyes he was met with and a worrying Philip. It was nice to be worried about for once.

                “W-what did they do to you? W-why are you all bloody and cut open?” Philip stuttered out as his eyes rapidly studied Shotaro’s broken form.

                Shotaro shakily pushed himself to his feet. “It’s nothing.”

                “They came and got you during the night… didn’t they? Is that when they come for you?” Philip asked quietly. Shotaro couldn’t look Philip in the eye after that. How could any hard-boiled man?

                “Why don’t you fight against them? They do such horrible things to you!” Philip argued. Then as if he had read Shotaro’s eyes he finished for himself. “You don’t because you’ve given up. You’ve grown used to… and accepted your fate. Oh, Shotaro, you can’t just give up. What they’re doing… you should keep fighting!”

                “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Shotaro grumbled as he made his way to the sink. It was tiny and wimpy, but it was better than nothing. He dipped one of the scratchy wash rags in the cold water before gently dabbing at his wounds. The ones he could reach at least.

                “Maybe not,” Philip stated as he leaned against the doorframe. “But I do know you don’t deserve this.”

                Shotaro’s eyes flicked towards Philip. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

                Philip sighed as he grabbed the second wash rag and wet it. He very carefully started to peel the shirt from Shotaro’s back. It was drenched in his blood and stuck to his marred skin and Philip was thankful that Shotaro had started to go numb in those areas. Eventually he was able to peel the shirt away and pull it over Shotaro’s head. Along with that shirt, though, came little bits of Shotaro’s skin. His back was whipped raw, so Kengo had been angry. Philip gently cleaned up the blood on the smooth parts of his skin right below the small of his back. Above was just marred, completely unrecognizable. Shotaro had a _high_ tolerance for pain. A lot of the blood had collected at the waist band of Shotaro’s white pants, completely staining it red. In a less serious scenario, he’d laugh at Shotaro’s dimples on his back… but not now. Philip removed and cleaned what he could. Shotaro lazily handed Philip some clean, white bandages.

                “What? Kengo wanted me to live so he gave me clean bandages,” Shotaro said as he turned and saw Philip’s questioning gaze.

                “That’s sadistic,” Philip answered as he grabbed the bandages from Shotaro. He tried not shivering when their fingers barely brushed and electricity arched through the two.

Shotaro met Philip’s eyes and found that he couldn’t look away. Had he ever mentioned how beautiful and _perfect_ Philip was? He hated admitting it, but Kengo was right. Philip intrigued him. More than he was willing to admit. It was cliché, but Philip was the light in his darkness… and his hope.

“Its my brother,” Shotaro answered as he tried leaning back against the sink to face Philip completely.

“I have a feeling that Kengo was different… that that isn’t your brother anymore,” Philip said as he unrolled the bandages and wrapped it once around Shotaro’s waist.

Shotaro breathed in deeply, Philip’s smell filling his nose. Philip was way to close, practically leaning into Shotaro’s chest. “N-no… he changed. He has the Gaia Memory Infinity and it…it uh, created a monster.”

Philip’s hands stilled. “He has a Gaia Memory?”

“Yeah, you know of them?” Shotaro answered.

Philip nodded his head. “A little to well. I hate them so much…”

Then Shotaro remembered what Kengo had told him about Philip. The importance Philip had to Museum. “Did… you help make the Gaia Memories.”

Philip’s hands shook as he continued to wrap the bandages around Shotaro’s wounds. “I did… b-but it wasn’t like I had a choice. I was enslaved by Museum and it wasn’t until recent that I was able to escape. Shotaro, I’m not an object. I think I’m a Human being… I haven’t ever been sure.”

Shotaro grabbed Philip’s forearms, stilling the younger man. “You’re not an object and you’re a human being. Don’t ever say you’re not. And… I get it. Museum wasn’t the nicest place to be, and I’m glad you got away. Although, you’re here now and that’s probably not an improvement.”

Philip laughed quietly. “No, not really. Reminds me of the room I grew up in, and I even am wearing the same clothes that I did in that cursed place.” Then Philip went silent as he finished wrapping Shotaro’s chest up and tied of the bandage. Blood was starting to seep through the bandages already, but Philip looked away.

“Thank you,” Shotaro said.

Philip smiled up at him. “You’re welcome. I’d ask you to promise me to not let them do that again, but I think we both know that that’ll happen again.”

Shotaro nodded. “As long as I keep them away from you, you’ll be fine.”

Philip starred up at him in wonder. “Y-you’re protecting me? B-but why? You only just met me yesterday and you’ve been here for 8 months. I don’t understand. Why would you protect me?”

“Because when I look into your eyes… when I look at you… I just, I want to make sure you never cry again. For some reason I can feel your emotions, your thoughts, everything better than I have with anyone else in my life. I know we’ve just met, but I feel like we’ve known each other for forever. You’re important… to me,” Shotaro managed to admit although his face was burning red.

“Why would you care if I’ve cried?”

“Because… I think you’re supposed to be my Aibou. The Double Driver is supposed to be shared between two people… and I think you’re supposed to be the person inside my head. Its why… its why I can feel your emotions even if I don’t want to,” Shotaro said. “I grew up feeling someone’s emotions… I didn’t know who’s they were. But it was like every spike of pain, every spike of sadness… it was like they were my own. Then I met you, and those feelings are stronger.”

“You have the Double Driver? The same driver that allows one to ride with the devil?” Philip answered. “Shotaro, you don’t know the _power_ that driver has! If we could get a hold of it, then we could get out of here! They’d stop torturing you!”

“It wouldn’t be that simple,” Shotaro said as he crossed the room to sit on the bed. “I don’t even know where that specific driver is. The only one I had was the one I fought with, and that’s hidden somewhere.”

“Then, we’ll have to wait for the right time.”

“How will we do that?” Shotaro answered.

“I’m a data human, I have an infinite archive inside my head. I’ll figure it out at the right time,” Philip answered.

“Y-you do?” Shotaro asked in surprise.

Philip’s blood ran cold. This was where Shotaro would fear him and hate him. He was so close damn it. “Yes, I do. I call it Planetary Bookshelves, and its just been used for research till now.”

“That is so cool!” Shotaro exclaimed. “Philip, you never fail to surprise me. I respect you even more.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shotaro and Philip start to form a close bond when Kengo comes in to play. Let's just say, it wasn't a very Merry Christmas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO HERE'S MY EARLY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL! I LOVE YOU ALL VERY MUCH BECAUSE YOURE ALL SO VERY, VERY AWESOME! HAVE SOME BEAUTIFUL PHIDARI MOMENTS! And be sure to check out my other works if you have not, like the Pacific Rim Au and Our Separate Ways. I think you'll like 'em! :D Also, find me on Wattpad! My name is KamenRiderW on there as well!

Before the two knew it, a few weeks or more had passed. Philip lost count at 14 days. In those 14 days, though, Philip had lost more weight then he probably had. Food came once every few days and when it did come it was really small. Maybe a piece of bread and fruit or something of that nature. Philip understood how Shotaro had been so skinny. During his insane research tangents, he forgot to eat sometimes, but he’d always make up for it. They were forced to drink water from the sink which couldn’t be the most sanitary thing. Philip ended up becoming lethargic on the fifth day and Shotaro had helped him through those few days. His body adapted of course, like it always did. Philip’s sleeping schedule changed after that first night with waking and finding Shotaro bleeding out on the floor. They still came and got him every evening, but Philip stayed awake and waited for him to get back. The time varied, some nights they took him away for many, many hours and other nights he was barely gone for more than an hour. Then there were those special nights when they didn’t even come and take Shotaro away at all. They lived for those ones when Shotaro could heal and get better. Every time they took him away, though, Shotaro came back bloody, broken, but smiling. It was on the sixth night when Philip had practically dragged Shotaro to the small bed and forced him to sleep beside Philip. It became a silent agreement after that, being near each other became a calming reassurance that the latter was still alive. They completely ignored Philip during those days and that made Philip nervous. Very nervous. He wasn’t afraid for his own safety, but for Shotaro’s. Whatever the bastards were planning, it was going to be a trap for Shotaro. Philip found himself leaning on Shotaro more than he thought he would. Shotaro became his rock in those weeks, the only strength Philip had. Maybe that’s where Philip had made his mistake.

 

Sunlight streamed in through the small windows at the ceiling of the room, signaling it being yet another late morning. Philip had still been able to keep up with the time, fortunately, and knew that they had slept in till 12. Last night had been an extremely late night. Shotaro had been taken away at 9 o’clock and hadn’t returned till 3 in the morning. Philip tried making him talk about what had happened, he was more worn than usual. As always, Shotaro refused to admit what had happened. Philip could feel it though, very faintly, but he could feel Shotaro start to break. It was weak… but he was breaking. He was starting to develop nervous ticks, a scratchy voice from the pain, and a dejected look.

Philip felt the hands around his waist tighten slightly, and obligingly, Philip curled closer into Shotaro’s chest. Shotaro was a cuddler, although he’d never admit it. It wasn’t just for Shotaro’s sake, though, Philip liked to be held for once. To be… important enough to someone that they couldn’t sleep without their arms wrapped around him. It was nice to have that reassurance. And Philip could feel Shotaro’s heart beat at that close and he liked that to and Shotaro was warm. It was almost Christmas, and the days were getting colder and colder. Plus, Philip’s guilty pleasure was playing with Shotaro’s hair while he was asleep. It wasn’t his fault, Shotaro’s hair was interesting. It was extremely soft, and constantly very curly. Philip wound his hands through Shotaro’s thick hair and twirled it around his fingers. Shotaro suddenly lifted his hand and pushed Philip away.

“Go back to sleep,” Shotaro demanded, his voice muffled by the bed. “Its too early.”

“At least let me get up, Shotaro,” Philip said as he rolled over to face Shotaro. His eyes met Shotaro’s half-lidded ones.

Shotaro sighed, but he unwound his arms from Philip and lazily sat up. He then ran his hands through his hair as he tried straightening it. A futile attempt. Philip just laughed and messed it up again with his hands.

“Ah mou! Philip stop!” Shotaro chuckled as he completely pushed Philip away again. “Grow up and get a life.” Then Shotaro lay back down on the bed slowly.

“Nope,” Philip answered as he climbed out of bed and stretched.

Shotaro sighed before he rolled out of bed as well and shuffled over towards the bathroom. He quickly washed his face at the sink and studied his wounds. Philip had already cleaned his wounds last night… or early that morning. They were already tended to, but last night had just given him a few more bruises. When Shotaro turned back towards Philip he found the boy motionless, his arms raised in the air and his eyes closed. Shotaro vaguely wondered what Philip was researching, but he didn’t comment. He attempted to rub warmth back into his hands, the thin clothing and bedding did nothing to help them. It was then that the locks on the steel door started coming undone. Philip’s eyes snapped open in panic as the door was pushed open and a bunch of light streamed down the steps.

“Merry fucking Christmas!” Kengo shouted down the stairs. “Grab them!”

“What’s going on?” Shotaro snarled as he took a sturdy stance and pushed Philip behind him.

Four large men that Shotaro had never seen before bounded down the stairs and headed for Shotaro. Philip’s hand slipped into Shotaro’s and Shotaro squeezed it. The men only got closer. Then they grabbed a hold of Shotaro’s shoulders and dragged him to the ground. Shotaro cried out in pain from the past night’s. One of the men punched Shotaro in the face, but Shotaro wobbled to his feet and yet again put himself in between Philip and the four. The largest man, probably towering over Shotaro by six extra feet grabbed a hold of Shotaro’s shirt and lifted him clear off his feet. All Shotaro could do was try to kick his way out, but the man was to strong. Then suddenly, Shotaro was on the ground again and Philip was in front of him. Philip had tackled the man and sent the man stumbling back in surprise.

“Leave him alone!” Philip hissed like a snake.

“Aw, look at that,” Kengo laughed as he descended the stairs. “Trying to protect Shotaro. I never thought I’d see the day when you would protect another human except yourself. How cute.”

Philip steeled his nerves. “You’ve done enough. You already take him away every night… just leave him alone.”

Kengo had a vicious grin that made Shotaro very uncomfortable. Then he signaled to the men and they grabbed a hold of Philip. Shotaro wouldn’t admit that he attacked crazily, but in those few seconds he had laid into the four men. Philip had been ripped away and Shotaro was about to legit bite the guys when he was struck in the head hard enough and his body fell face forward. All he heard was Philip screaming profanities and then it was all silent.

 

“Shotaro!” a voice reached Shotaro’s ears and the clattering sound of chains. Then he soon found the pain of hanging from the ceiling by his wrists. His eyes flew open. Immediately he took in his surroundings while ignoring the pain in his forehead. He was in a different room, it was larger. He hung by metal chains wrapped around his wrists and cut the circulation off. Then he saw Philip who had the same metal chains, but was attached to the wall. Philip was straining against his bonds and his wrists were rubbed raw and bloody.

“Stop s…straining,” Shotaro managed out catching Philip’s attention. “It’ll make it worse. Did they hurt you?”

Philip shook his head. “They were being really gentle for some reason. After they knocked you out… I tried to attack them, but they overpowered me. It wasn’t long before I had the handcuffs and was being dragged down a hallway… towards this room. Regarding my studies, this is the only other room that Kengo uses to torture people in.” Then Philip strained against the chains again and recoiled immediately.

“I told you to stop, Philip, it’ll only hurt worse,” Shotaro answered angrily.

“I’m not giving up like you!” Philip answered as he strained against the bonds. “I have thousands of books at my fingertips, filled with the knowledge to escape!”

“It’s no use, Philip. Believe me, I’d know. I’ve tried everything… in the beginning,” Shotaro answered, his voice pleading with Philip.

Philip stilled as the brunt of those words hit him. Of course Shotaro would have tried everything to get away, he’d been here for like 9 months at least. No, 8 months and 24 days. Philip had been there for only 24 days and in those days he had never been so much as touched by the bastards. Something deep down, though, told Philip that Shotaro was purposely goading the men into attacking Shotaro over Philip, because Philip’s luck couldn’t have lasted that long.

“Wouldn’t want your boyfriend to hurt himself, huh, niisan?” Kengo laughed as he came through the door flanked by many guards.

Shotaro didn’t respond. He did, however, watch Kengo like a hawk. Thankfully, Kengo seemed to ignore Philip and just focused on Shotaro. He eyed Kengo’s guards but they just spread out along the wall as if making sure the two men wouldn’t be able to escape. Kengo absently-mindedly pulled two black gloves from his pocket. He slowly slid them onto his hands and used the Velcro to tighten them. Two men came forward and pulled the shirt from Shotaro’s body leaving him bare in only his pants. That’s when Shotaro knew what was going to happen… this was meant to break Philip. Well, if Philip cared about Shotaro in any way, shape, or form.

“Philip,” Shotaro whispered catching the younger’s attention as Kengo grabbed something from one of his guards. “Whatever you do, close your eyes. I-I don’t want you to see this.”

Realization dawned on Philip… and then he knew to. They were going to torture Shotaro right in front of him and that made him angry. His vision turned red as he yanked and pulled against his chains like a mad dog.

“LEAVE HIM ALONE YOU BASTARDS,” Philip screamed at the men.

“Shut him up. Gag him if you have to,” Kengo ordered as he approached Shotaro. One of the men quickly tied a gag around Philip’s mouth, who was trying to bite the man’s hands off.

“Kengo, you can’t do this,” Shotaro said as he looked his brother in his haunted eyes.

“I can, I am, and I will. Or you could give me the driver,” Kengo answered as he raised a whip.

Shotaro shook his head. “I still can’t give it to you, innocent people will die… you’re out of luck.”

“Then, you’re precious boy toy will suffer as we beat you until you can’t move,” Kengo answered as he brought the whip down across Shotaro’s skin. Shotaro clenched his teeth as the pain exploded in his body, but he made sure he didn’t cry out. Not this time, not with Philip in the same room watching. He hoped to whoever was listening that Philip had closed his eyes, had been able to plug his ears, because he had never wanted Philip to see this. To see what he had gone through for the long 8 months that he had been there. It was unjust for someone that innocent to see something so… horrid. Then he was hit again and again and again. His skin opened up and blood ran down his chest. Shotaro still didn’t make a sound as Kengo laid into his beatings. It wasn’t just Kengo anymore, it was the men all around him beating into him. Shotaro couldn’t stay quiet anymore, the pain was too much. Minutes blended into hours and Shotaro’s body hung limp. He couldn’t tell if he felt the pain anymore or not… his world blurred together. His recent wounds were bleeding again, and new ones replaced those. Shotaro’s hearing went out, along as his voice. He just closed his eyes and prayed to anyone that this would stop. Either they’d kill him, or they’d stop. Just, please stop. Then he remembered that Philip was watching and he wanted to cry. He was supposed to protect Philip… and now Philip had seen him at his worse. When he was getting hurt, when he was losing, and when he couldn’t protect Philip.

 

Seven hours later Kengo stopped. Shotaro had lost dozing in and out of consciousness for the past three. His body could no longer sustain itself, causing him to hang from his wrists. Shotaro was pretty sure that that would have hurt… but he had grown to numb to feel a thing. Kengo dropped the bloodied knife in hand and pulled his gloves from his hands. They were slick with the dark red liquid and Kengo handed it to one of the guards. Kengo’s clothes were stained with the same liquid and he stretched and yawned.

“Well that was a blast,” Kengo sighed. “Unchain the two and drag them back. Better yet, get Terui to drag Shotaro back. That’ll help their friendship.”

The men laughed as they unhooked Shotaro from the ceiling and let him drop to the floor like a sack of potatoes.

“Ahghhh…” Shotaro cried as more pain sparked up through his body and he tried to crawl, to stand, to even move. He found… that he could not. He was weakened right in front of his charge, his best friend.

Then a second set of chains were dropped to the floor and Philip was at his side. Philip put Shotaro’s bloody arms around his shoulders and lifted him, taking all of Shotaro’s weight on his own. Shotaro tried to resist. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be, Philip shouldn’t have had to carry him. Philip shouldn’t have had to watch what he had down… the cruelties of his brother. Shotaro’s eyes focused on Philip’s. He would have gasped if he could. Philip’s eyes were red rimmed and tears had dried on his cheeks. His wrists were bloodied so bad… they looked like they hurt and Shotaro tried to be angry. He didn’t have enough energy. It was better than Philip having his entire torso covered in blood and broken skin. Philip’s hands were a gentle reminder to Shotaro and he was thankful… no he couldn’t be thankful. Philip wasn’t supposed to see that.

Kengo and ¾ of the guards filed out leaving only two. Probably to drag Philip back, because face it, Shotaro had absolutely no energy to try escaping. He was just focused on breathing… because every molecule in his body wished he would stop. His mind, however, stayed strong through the torture and that’s what mattered. He couldn’t break completely, he couldn’t leave Philip here alone with these monsters who have done such horrible things.

The door opened again and a man in red leather came in. His eyes settled on Shotaro and his expression dropped.

“Oh my god, Hidari,” Terui Ryu said as he came to Philip’s side and bared the other half of Shotaro’s weight. “I’m so sorry.”

Shotaro didn’t have the strength to thank him or even say anything. Terui and Philip dragged Shotaro out of the room and back towards their room. The guards followed behind the trio, stepping over the puddles of blood Shotaro was leaving behind from his bare feet. They got to the door and Terui shuffled Shotaro to Philip before opening the door and carrying the man down the stairs. The guards stayed behind, thankfully. Judging by the light, Shotaro guessed the sun was setting.

“Soon, Shotaro,” Terui whispered to him. “Soon this Hell will be over. We’re working on it.”

Then Terui laid Shotaro on the bed and took off back up the stairs quicker than he had come. Philip watched him go, but then turned to the beaten mess that Shotaro was. He wanted to cry, to scream, to punch someone… because watching that… that was the most horrible thing he had ever done in his life. Now, Shotaro was beyond broken and Philip couldn’t _do anything_ to take his pain away. He could clean the blood off of him, he could do that. Philip ran to the sink and drenched both rags before racing back over to Shotaro. He steeled his nerves because this would hurt Shotaro more than it would help him. In his head there were 90,958, 985,001 results on caring for wounds… and he could only attempt three of those. One, stitch up Shotaro’s wounds, but Philip needed string and a needle. He was sure that Kengo was caring enough to give Philip that. He could clean Shotaro’s wounds. That’s what he was going to do originally. And thirdly, he could protect Shotaro from Kengo... but he had been so powerless to do so before. He wanted to believe that he could protect Shotaro from that evil, but he couldn’t.

Philip’s eyes watered, still a foreign emotion to him. “I’m so sorry, Shotaro.”

Then Shotaro’s bloody arm was on his cheek. “It-its not your fault, Philip. D-don’t ever think this is your fault.”

Philip’s hand shook as he wiped the blood from Shotaro’s face. Shotaro had to be stronger than Philip had initially thought to still be ok after losing that much blood. “But I couldn’t protect you Shotaro.”

“I di…didn’t want you to, P-Philip,” Shotaro answered as his hand fell. “I’m a hard-boiled man. I protect, but I don’t need protecting.”

Philip grabbed Shotaro’s hand and squeezed it. “Don’t you think that I have the same urge to keep you safe, to? Shotaro… I can’t imagine my life without you anymore. I don’t want to live a life without you Shotaro… please. The very beginning of my life was the only time I was happy, then I died. Then the Sonazaki family, my family, used me to make Gaia Memories and corrupt the people of Futo. I’ve grown up miserable… but even though we’re in this hell, I’m happy. Please, Shotaro, don’t leave me like everyone else has. Please.”             

Shotaro smiled up at Philip. “Then I won’t. I don’t care if you died and came back, I don’t care if you were a Sonazaki. I won’t leave you, I’ll stay in this fight.”

Philip smiled through the tears that were forming and washed the blood away from Shotaro once again. He had never thought that he would ever get the storm of emotions that he got. But the past few weeks living with Shotaro 24/7, he had learned so much. Shotaro had taught him how to be human, how to laugh, how to cry, how to get angry, how to love, and so many other things. Shotaro became… important to him.

“Wait,” Shotaro’s hand stilled Philip’s arm.

“What?” Philip asked as he looked at Shotaro.

“If you worked for the Sonazaki mansion and made Gaia Memories, then you didn’t happen to be called the Child of Fate?” Shotaro replied.

“Um… yeah?” Philip answered.

Shotaro put a hand on his forehead as memories of _that_ night flew through his head. He laughed darkly. “On this day, a year or more ago, we would have met in different circumstances. The Boss and I had been hired to save you, but we didn’t make it. That’s how I got Lost Driver and Double Driver.”

“I wish I would have met you then, in those circumstances,” Philip said as he started in on Shotaro’s chest.

“Oh Philip. I do to. You don’t deserve this, Philip.”

“Neither do you, Shotaro, you’re a good man,” Philip answered.

Shotaro laughed. “I’m glad you think so. But Philip, I’m the one who killed the Boss. I deserve what I get.”

Philip would have slapped him if it weren’t for the swelling bruises on Shotaro’s face already. “Don’t you _ever_ say that! You gave me these emotions, don’t you dare play them.”

Shotaro sighed as he looked up at Philip from the bed. “Sometimes I wonder how I ever met someone so perfect.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not saying anything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas guys! :D

No one bothered the two for over a week except for giving them food off and on. Shotaro started healing up so well, the bruises turned yellowish and then started to shrink and disappear. It was starting to get to easy, and Philip was sure something big was going to happen. They had made Shotaro weak… and now, they were going to destroy him. He couldn’t approach Shotaro about it, because he knew the man would laugh it off. Shotaro always laughed things like that, he was hard-boiled, things couldn’t break him. But Philip knew, he knew that Shotaro was actually half-boiled. He had an idea of what would break Shotaro, he read Shotaro’s book in the Gaia Library. Family, love, those were Shotaro’s downfalls. Anytime that he had ever been beaten, it was because it was someone he loved. Kengo… and strangely, Philip. For some odd reason Shotaro cared about Philip more than anything. Philip didn’t know how it had happened, but it had. Sonazaki Raito, the dead son of Sonazaki Ryubee and Fumine. Even more stranger, Shotaro wasn’t bothered by it. Philip didn’t really know what it was like to be loved… it was strange, but he finally concluded that it was a good feeling. It was a _really_ good feeling.

Philip’s heart was warm now as he watched Shotaro do whatever Shotaro did best. Right now it was pace the room. He did that every day for two to three hours combined. Outside of this room, Shotaro was an active person. He didn’t stay in one place to often. Philip thought it was interesting, while being extremely hilarious. Shotaro’s favorite curse word was bastard. That was helpful information about Shotaro. Shotaro liked to type on a typewriter and not a laptop, he said it made him feel like a true hard-boiled detective. Shotaro also liked to read, like Philip, and Philip admired that. Shotaro also had a motorcycle that was half green, half black. Philip found that interesting in itself, it was the same color as the two memories Cyclone and Joker combined. Shotaro fought for a whole year as Kamen Rider Joker, made two friends, and battled Museum when Philip was planning to runaway. Shotaro’s closest friends, not including Philip, were Terui Ryu and Narumi Akiko… or Terui Akiko after they got married. Deep down inside, Shotaro still believed in Terui to go back to the good side… and Philip hated that. Shotaro trusted his ex-friends to much and believed in them when someone in their right mind wouldn’t. Philip learned, though, to love that craziness. That’s what made the two’s friendship work so well. They were exact opposites, Philip cold and intelligent while Shotaro was compassionate, loving, and very, very stupid.

Philip was interrupted from his researching when the door was opened and Shotaro was on his way to Philip. In seconds, Shotaro put himself in between Philip in the door. _Baka!_ Philip thought to himself. _That’s what they want. They want the proof that you’re willing to sacrifice yourself for me… wait…_

                The men were coming for a torture victim, and this time, it wasn’t Shotaro. Philip would experience firsthand what it felt like to be tortured and Shotaro wouldn’t be able to protect him. That’s how they were going to break Shotaro, Philip was the nuclear weapon and Shotaro was the innocent citizen. That was the only reason they brought Philip here, it wasn’t for revenge against Museum. Of course Museum would get hurt in the crossfire, but that was just killing two birds with one stone. Philip was about to… break Shotaro. He didn’t know what to do! Should he push Shotaro away and go willingly… or act like he didn’t know what was happening? How could he save Shotaro from his own feelings? There _was_ no other way. Shotaro was a defeated man already.

He closed his eyes and counted. 1… they were down the stairs. 2… they were approaching Shotaro and the man was becoming defensive. 3…They were pushing Shotaro away... he could hear it. 4… they grabbed a hold of Philip and started dragging him up the stairs… Philip could feel it. 5… Shotaro was attacking the men like a rabid animal. 6… More men came down the stairs and grabbed a hold of Shotaro. 7… they were dragging him into the same room that they tortured Shotaro in before. 8… his wrists were encased in the metal handcuffs and chained up to Shotaro’s bloodied chains. His wrists slipped down the cuffs because they were made to fit Shotaro and Shotaro was larger than Philip. 9… that blood was Shotaro’s, a living reminder of what the man had been through. 10… Shotaro was tied up right beside Philip like a wounded animal. Philip wished he could see Shotaro or at least fele him. He needed all the reassurance he could get.

The door opened again and the devil entered. He stretched his arms out and laughed a malious cackle. “Let’s get this over with!”

“Kengo!” Shotaro shouted. “I know what you’re going to do, but you don’t have to. Philip hasn’t done anything to you, I have.”

Shotaro wasn’t as dumb as Philip thought.

Kengo slipped on his infamous black gloves. “But I do. I could beat you till you bleed to death, but your stubbornness won’t let you break.”

“Hurting Philip won’t break me! That’s what being Hard-boiled is,’ Shotaro answered.

“Would you shut up and let me finish for once! I never get in a word edge wise. Jeesh, inconsiderate. Anyway, I know you Hidari. I know how you work. A few months ago I came up with an idea. Why don’t I kidnap someone who you’ll end up loving and break them in front of you? You’ll break. Then I found this one. A male damsel in distress, although I never thought you were gay. I’m hurt actually, we’re brothers and you didn’t tell me that! Rude! Anyway, it was an experiment, honestly, I didn’t think that it would have worked so well. Yet, you showed me that you two couldn’t live with out each other and were so disgustingly in love… well you screwed yourself. You, you idiot, let yourself fall in love with Philip here, and now you led to your own demise.”

Then Kengo punched Philip in the stomach and Philip tried to double over. Then he was back handed so hard that he slid backwards. Philip cried out as it stung. Never had he been hit that hard.

“Kengo, please stop!” Shotaro cried.

Kengo didn’t. It was as if a mad animal had been let loose. Punch after punch came and Philip wasn’t seeing clearly. He wasn’t used to this treatment. He forced himself back into the indifferent aspect of his personality, but the pain still came. Kengo used him as if he were a punching back. His nose bled, his mouth bled, and his skin was red and angry looking. Bruises were already froming on his face, and probably on his stomach. Punch after punch continued coming, a never ending torrent. Philip barely heard Shotaro screaming at Kengo to stop.

“I’ll give it to you!” Shotaro said in a mantra, and Philip felt like crying for a different reason. Just as he had thought, he had made Shotaro break. He had made Shotaro give in.

“ Yay! I want the location of the lost driver now or I swear, I have no qualms with killing your boyfriend here,” Kengo hissed as he held Philip by his throat, effectively cutting off his oxygen flow.

“The driver… the driver is back on Madison Street under that pile of debris,” Shotaro said, not meeting Kengo’s eyes. “Its there, I promise.”

Kengo’s face fell. “You’re kidding. Its been there all this time? No you have to be joking. No? Only idiots would hide it like that.”

“I-I never said I was smart. It’s there,” Shotaro answered.

“Shotaro, you can’t!” Philip cried as he forced himself to stand on his two feet.

“They were hurting you! And I already did,” Shotaro answered.

“Yeah well now they’ll kill us,” Philip replied quietly. “And he will.”

“Ah this one is so, very smart,” Kengo said as he stroked Philip’s cheek, causing said boy to flinch. “I will kill you now, but just you. I wanna play with this one for awhile before I kill him.”

“You bastard! You can’t!”

“I can,” Kengo answered as he pulled a gun from his jacket and crossed the threshold to Shotaro. He raised the gun to Shotaro’s temple and pulled back the safety clip.

“Kengo, I know this isn’t you,” Shotaro said, his voice thick.

Kengo hit Shotaro in the head with the stock of his gun before pushing it back against Shotaro’s temple. “Wow, really? How do you know after you _left_ me to go become Narumi Sokichi’s apprentice? I was left with our abusive aunt. You know, I’m glad that bastard, Sokichi, is dead. And… I’m glad that I get to kill you myself.”

“Is this what this is all about? Shotaro asked.

Kengo looked away. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Yes, it does. Kill me, then, if that’s what you really need. But I know for sure that it won’t do any good for you. Revenge is pointless. It will only leave you more empty then before. I don’t think you could kill your own brother who practically raised you,” Shotaro answered.

“Shotaro!”

“Quiet Philip. This is between Kengo and I. Brother, there are things I wish I could go back and change. Mistakes that I’ve made, but you have made some to. Torturing me hurting Philip… you can atone for those any way you know how,” Shotaro said quietly.

A cruel sneer replaced Kengo’s frown and the eyes that looked into Shotaro’s were not the eyes of a sane person. “Staring with you dead… that’ll be how I atone. Then the world will die with you.”

Then the gun was right between Shotaro’s eyes. “I want to see your _brains_ splatter against the wall!” Then Kengo’s thumb ended up on the trigger.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally!! It's been so long and I missed you guys! So, have another chapter! :D I slapped this one together in record breaking time!!!

Suddenly, the door was thrust open and a flying red arm knocked the gun from Kengo’s hands. Terui and Hino Eiji threw themselves at Kengo’s bodyguards and quickly disposed of them. One after another.

“Kamen Riders,” Kengo snarled. Then he pulled a silver Gaia Memory from his pocket. He pushed the button on the side and it shouted out “Infinity!” and Kengo inserted it into his neck. His form shimmered and became a huge, silver monster. With a snap of his fingers, he pixilated and disappeared. Shotaro watched as Hino Eiji and Terui Ryu took out the remaining body guards. Then they rushed over to Shotaro and unhooked him from the chains that held his raw wrists and he fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Even though his head ached, Shotaro pushed himself to his feet and unhooked Philip’s wrists from the chains that held him. He would have hit the ground, but Shotaro caught him before he did.

“I’m sorry, Hidari,” Terui said. “I couldn’t get this organized any faster.”

Shotaro pulled Philip to his body and put his arm over his shoulder to carry most of his weight. Philip barely acknowledged that. “Its fine Terui. I can’t forgive you exactly… but I know that what you did was to protect Akiko.”

Terui nodded. “But I still am so sorry, and… I don’t except you to forgive me.”

“Let’s get out while we still can guys,” Eiji warned as Ankh took Izumi Shingo’s body back. He offered his hand to Philip. “I’m Hino Eiji.”

Philip didn’t respond and Shotaro shook his head. “I need to get Philip out of here.”

“Oh Shotaro,” Eiji said as he patted his pockets and pulled out a large belt buckle looking thing. It was red, and made a W. There were two slots for… two Gaia Memories. The. Double. Driver. Shotaro hadn’t seen it in at least nine months. His hand shook as he took it.

“We’ve got your clothes, Shotaro, in the van. We also have these,” Terui pressed two memories into his hand. One was black with a purple J on it for Joker. The other was green with a C. He squinted at the name of it, Cyclone. He’d never really studied the other memories.

“Wait,” Shotaro whispered as he turned the memories over in hand, and he shook Philip slightly. “Philip, hey.”

“Shotaro?” Shotaro put the green memory in Philip’s hand.

“There isn’t anyone else I’d rather have in my head. Wanna see if we’re compatible?” Shotaro asked.

Philip weakly got to his feet by himself and held the memory up, reading it. “Cyclone? I’ve never seen these ones before.”

“Yeah…” Shotaro answered. “They’re different.”

Philip grabbed the driver from Shotaro’s hand and smiled. He put the belt below Shotaro’s navel and a strap sprang around the man’s waist. Immediately, a driver materialized in the same exact place on Philip’s body. “We are compatible. Then Shotaro, do you have the courage to ride with the devil?”

Shotaro nodded. “I’ve always had the courage.”

Together they made a motion with the memories and their arms, completely a perfect W. Both said ‘Henshin’ in time with each other and Philip inserted the memory into the right driver slot on his belt. It disappeared and reappeared in Shotaro’s. Shotaro put the Joker memory in the left slot and pushed the slot outwards, making another W. Philip’s body started falling and Terui caught it.

“W is born,” Eiji whispered.

Inside the suit, Shotaro felt Philip’s mind against his own. He felt complete for once. _Its because we were meant to be partners from the start._ Came Philip’s voice from inside his head. His right arm raised itself, but it felt weird because it wasn’t in Shotaro’s control. _W is perfect balance, and we have that balance._ W, this is what the Boss meant. We’re one, Philip! _Of course I have control of the right side of your body and you control the left._

“You guys get out of here, we’ll take care of the rest of these bastards,” Shotaro stated.

“I’ve calculated that there are seven more men left. Including the ones that have tortured you, the rest have ran,” Philip answered physically using Shotaro’s own mouth to speak. It was weirder than hell to be used to speaking with your own voice, when someone else took that voice from you and changed it.

“That is creepy,” Ankh stated before sauntering off.

“Philip, your… uh… your body will be waiting outside for you,” Eiji said nervously before Terui pushed ‘Philip’ onto Eiji’s back and they carried them away.

Let’s go, Aibou. _After you, after all, you normally step off on your left foot._ Shotaro internally smiled as Kengo’s body guards came running at them. Then he took off, Philip pushing the right side along with Shotaro.

 

Philip sat up back in his body as Shotaro jumped in the car beside him and put the belt beside Philip. Shotaro’s gentle hands helped Philip sit up before slamming the door closed.

“Let’s go!” Shotaro shouted to Eiji and Ankh who were sitting in the front. The bird-like man munching on an ice Popsicle. Terui sat in the way front, Philip and Shotaro leaning against the back of the wall to the maintenance van in the back. Philip was leaning back into Shotaro’s chest and sitting in between his legs.

“I didn’t realize how bright it was, now that there’s more sun,” Shotaro whispered as he leaned his chin on the top of Philip’s head. “It practically blinded me.”

Philip nodded. “I thought it would. Even though I’d been in that basement for only a few weeks, the light from the windshield is blinding. But you… you’ve been in there for nine months.”

“We’re out of that hell, though,” Shotaro sighed as he ran his hand through Philip’s hair. “That’s all I could ask for.”

Philip laughed. “Yes, I am glad to. You have to be really idiotic to not have lasting mental problems from what they did.”

Shotaro leaned his head back. “We’ll have to see when the time comes. We’ll make up a plan as we go.”

“I hated waiting every night for them to bring you back… some nights… I was afraid,” Philip whispered and he laced his fingers with Shotaro. “I thought that they wouldn’t bring you back… like you were dead… and I was alone. I thought that… I would be alone.”

“Philip… I wouldn’t leave you. I don’t think I would have lasted as long as I did without you being there. You’re… important to me. Aibou. And now, we’ve shared the same head… we will always be able to feel each other, right?” Shotaro answered.

“It leaves a lasting effect. Even if we ever split up, we’ll be able to feel each other over miles and miles. The more we use the W driver, our minds will become one. Thoughts will meld, it’ll be very compelling. I must do some more research on the Double Driver when I get the chance,” Philip replied with a smile as his eyes lit up.

“Shotaro?” Eiji asked from where he was driving. “I wanted you to know that we’re heading back to Futo, right?”

“We are?” Shotaro asked. “But why?”

“You’re needed there. That’s where Kengo is heading,” Terui answered “It’s where he’s going to start killing people because… Shotaro, it’s your city. It’s your home and he’s going to go destroy it.”

“Like Hell he is,” Shotaro answered and he looked down at Philip, who was looking up at him. “Are you ready to go back to Futo? Do you need to get anything, or do you want to stay in America?”

“Shotaro, I think my life became 100% better after meeting you. I have become more human, and you know my darkest secrets. You have taught me that I must atone for my sins instead of running away from them. I think its time for me to go back and start to destroy the sins I have made,” Philip answered. “I will make sure that Gaia Memories are never on this Earth again. Except our six.”

Shotaro smiled. “I’ll help you, because it makes Futo cry.”

Futo city. Another Hell for Philip, but this time Museum didn’t have him. He was no longer an object, a tool for use. He was Shotaro’s equal, he was the right half of W. Philip was human now, and he had Shotaro. Shotaro was special, he was so much more than Philip had ever thought the man would become. Philip never thought about going back to Futo really, but he had thought about what it would feel like when Shotaro and Philip went their separate ways. When they got out of that place. Now he knew, he wanted to live with Shotaro for pretty much the rest of his life. Life without Shotaro would be… horrible. The Narumi Agency would become his home, Terui Ryu and Narumi Akiko his friends, and Shotaro… Shotaro would become his precious Aibou.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the filler chapter guys, it's definitely not the best! PLUS I STILL CAN'T GET THE DANG FORMAT RIGHT! I'M SO DONE! LOL

They headed over to Philip’s dorm room afterwards and snuck up the stairs. There, both Shotaro and Philip got a much needed, warm shower and some food. Granted everything of Philip’s had gone bad, he still had about twelve boxes of different fruit snacks from one of his research frenzies. It wasn’t the best idea to eat high calorie, high fat fruit snacks after eating so little, but Philip didn’t care. It was more than Philip had ever gotten in four-five weeks.

                “Just remember, you can’t eat too much at first,” Terui reminded.

                “I know,” Philip answered as he threw an empty box away. Then he remembered something of importance here, something he had left behind. He jumped from where he was sitting and limped to his bedroom and on his bed was a little black, blank book with gold trim. His own blank book. Philip picked it up and held it to himself. Then he limped back out and rejoined Shotaro, Terui, Eiji, and Ankh.

 

                Terui pulled the van into the airport terminal.

                “Our plane leaves in one hour,” Eiji advised as he pushed a grumbling Ankh out of the van.

                Shotaro looked at Philip. “You ready to go home?”

                Philip nodded and Shotaro grabbed Philip’s hand before pulling him out of the van.,It had been awhile seen Philip had been in a public place and even longer for Shotaro. Philip had never been afraid of humans or huge places… but things had changed. Philip was glad that Shotaro was holding his hand to, and he could feel that Shotaro was shaking. They stuck close together as they went throught security and got their tickets for the plane.

                “Wait sir!” A security guard called out and Shotaro froze. “I’m sorry, sir, byt you look like that one guy who’s been missing for 9 months.”

                “Um, yeah. We escaped, and now we’re heading home now,” Shotaro answred.

                “Oh my god! Did they catch your kidnapper?”

                Shotaro nodded. “Yeah, they did.”

                “That’s great to hear and I’m glad you’re ok!” The girl said before taking off.

                Philip looked at Shotaro in question, but the man just shrugged. “Americans are weird.”

                Philip couldn’t stop laughing even when they dropped off their luggage and boarded their plane. Shotaro ended up getting the window seat because surprise! Philip was afraid of heights and planes. Eiji sat on the other side of Philip and Terui and Ankh were somewhere else on the plane. They had almost missed that plane because some _bird-greedy thing_ thought that he could drop Izumi Shingo’s body and fly to Japan himself. Shotaro wasn’t saying any names though. He was thankful that Eiji was with them, because no one in the whole world could talk Ankh out of one of his moods except Eiji

                “Giraffes have black tongues,” Philip randomly stated as the plane started to take off. His nails dug in to the seat as it started going upwards. “America had a terrorist attack in 2001 using planes. HIJACKED PLANES!”

                “Philip,” Shotaro whispered to his Aibou. “Calm down. It’s going to be ok.”

                “Y-you know how everyone has a fear of something? I know yours is actually spiders although you won’t admit it because men aren’t supposed to be scared of bugs. Mine is… mine is being in a situation in which my knowledge cannot save me… like a plane. That’s thousands of feet from the ground… above the level for oxygen which is 1400 feet,” Philip rambled as he crushed Shotaro’s hand. “And statistically speaking, if a plane were to stall up at 2000 feet survival would be cut in half.”

                Shotaro pulled Philip closer to him. “Calm down, ok? What’s your most favorite thing to research right now?”

                “Astronomy?” Philip said.

                “Tell me everything you know about that subject,” Shotaro said as he stroked Philip’s hair, calming him down.

                “The Andromeda galaxy (Messier 31, NGC 224) is the closest large galaxy to us. The Andromeda system also contains a number of companions, including two bright dwarf episodic galaxies. Andromeda is visible with the naked eye. Some stars are in binary systems, meaning that two stars orbit each other. Often, one of the stars is much larger than the other, and in this case the smaller star seems to orbit the larger one. In fact, they’re both orbiting their common center of mass (a point between the two stars whose location depends on the mass of each star). Binary star systems are useful because astronomers can measure the periods of each of the star’s orbits, and determining the masses of the objects using some basic laws of physics. When our Sun’s red giant days are over, it will one day turn into a white dwarf star. A white dwarf will typically collapse until it is about the size of Earth. Then the pressure from the electrons in its interior will regain balance with gravity, and it won’t collapse anymore. Even so, a white dwarf is extremely dense. The only star denser is a neutron star, which is made from a star with a core between 1.4 and 3 times the mass of our Sun (see Chapter 11),” Philip rambled off as if he was reading and when Shotaro looked over at him, his eyes were closed and he was glowing green slightly.

                Shotaro leaned back and listened to Philip’s rambling, he had gotten used to it. Not to mention, he did have his own wonder of the outer space. The final frontier. Having a search-engine like human by your side taught you many things. Philip talked for hours until he flew asleep on Shotaro’s shoulder. The sun was setting in his window, or however that worked up above the clouds, Shotaro didn’t know. He mused on what it felt like to be free for once. To feel the sun directly on his skin and not through a window. To eat something other than bread and vegetables. To be back in the world after being… gone for so long. Things that hadn’t scared him scared him now and he didn’t know if it was from the shock from what Kengo did or if that cowardice was always there. Nine months in that hell… and he was surprised that he wasn’t as broken as he was. He’d seen movies where the people who had been kidnapped and tortured never… recovered. Yet Shotaro had, because he had to be the strong one for Philip. Philip was used to being used, but tortured? Kidnapped? Or watching someone close to him getting tortured? Yeah, Philip wasn’t equipped for that. Maybe that’s what made Shotaro unbreakable.

                That was it, Shotaro had figured it out. He pushed the hair out of Philip’s face. This perfect, beautiful man who was sleeping on his shoulders was someone he had to take care of now. Shotaro knew that Philip had just ‘survived’ when he got away from the Sonazaki’s, and not lived. Now, Philip was coming back to Futo, the source of Philip’s nightmares. They’d figure it out together, they had to, because now they were partners. And as long as Philip called Shotaro his partner, he would not break. People would come, monsters, who would want Philip for his brain. For his power, for the Cyclone memory. Living with Philip openly in Futo wouldn’t be easy, but Shotaro would make do. That’s just what partners did, protect each other. With that last thought, Shotaro fell asleep.

 

                Early in the next morning, they arrived in Tokyo Japan. There, they boarded the last train heading to Futo for a week. It was a long and unsettling ride, but Shotaro ignored it for the first time. With each mile that the train traveled over, he was getting closer to his home. To his native city, and the city he swore to protect. There was nothing better than being home again Shotaro concluded. And now, he could protect Futo even better with the Double Driver. Kamen Rider Joker would be replaced with Kamen Rider CycloneJoker. Kamen Rider Double and W. That was Shotaro and Philip’s legacy now. And so, Shotaro was more excited than he had ever been before.

                When the train arrived, he all but ran off the train carrying his only belongings. His trip to America had only supposed to been 1 month, but that had been 10 months ago. In total, Shotaro had been separated from his beloved city for 10 whole months. A month of helping Americans, and 9 months of being tortured. But now… he was home. And he could see Futo tower now, ever faithfully spinning from Futo’s wind. Futo-Kun he thought with glee. He’d have to make a trip there soon, preferably today after he went back to the Narumi Agency. Oh god, the Agency. Was it still running? Was everything still as he left it? Or had it changed? Akiko wouldn’t have changed it on him, would she have?

                “Akiko’s waiting at the Agency, Shotaro,” Terui said. “Its best we don’t keep her waiting.”

                Shotaro laughed. “She’s such an annoying little sister!”

                Then Philip walked up on Shotaro’s right side and slipped his left hand into Shotaro’s right. “I never thought I’d see this scenery again. I honestly never wanted to come back to his hell, but after seeing Kengo’s hell… I’m glad to be back home. With you, Aibou.”

                Shotaro smiled and squeezed Philip’s hand. “Then let’s go home.”

                Then they left the train station and walked down the street. They passed some of Shotaro’s clients that he had been hired to help months ago. They didn’t notice Shotaro at first, but when they saw him, their faces were priceless. First it was Yuka Izumi from the Money dopant case in which Shotaro won back her life and the lives of many others by playing Old Maid like a master. Then it was Jimmy from the fuutic idol case. Shotaro hadn’t never been so happy to see his late clients… it was almost like things were going to be ok. Except, Shotaro was more broken than ever and Philip could see it. Philip would fix the man, though, he would be different… but he’d be ok.

                Shotaro pulled Philip on till they came up on a billiards hall. An old, dusty bike sat out in the front with a tarp over it. From what Philip could see, it was part black and part green, just like W’s back.

                “You ready to meet my annoying adopted sister?” Shotaro asked and felt Philip’s nervousness. “Don’t worry, she’s pretty awesome actually. You’ll like her I think… although she can be a bit much. And judging from your background, you’ve never had to deal with that.”

                Philip shook his head. “The workers at Museum were all dull and boring.”

                Shotaro nodded. “I’m glad you’re here with me and not there. Although, it would have been nice to save you then to.”

                Philip laughed awkwardly. “Prince in shining armor, huh?”

                “Why you!” Shotaro shrieked and Philip pulled him into the building. By using Shotaro’s instincts, he knew which ways to turn and which stairs to climb. He stopped at the large, white door. The mailbox beside it read Narumi and Philip knew this was it. This was his home now, with Shotaro, and he couldn’t be any happier. This was a gift.

Shotaro squeezed Philip’s hand and looked into his large, brown eyes. Shotaro was just as afraid to come here as Philip was. It was all new again, an unfamiliar surrounding. What Kengo had done…he would pay for it one day. But the damage had been done to the both of them, Shotaro more than Philip. Shotaro’s mental capacity was stronger than any man on this planet. To withstand months upon months of endless torture in an environment where Shotaro had no one to talk to for the longest time, that took strength. Or maybe something reinforced Shotaro’s heart to keep it alive? Now, Shotaro was supposed to face something he hadn’t faced in many, many months. At least, this time Philip was by his side… and Philip would never let someone hurt Shotaro again. He just couldn’t. He might even kill the person who would try to hurt Shotaro… not after what Kengo had done.

“SHOTARO!” A woman said with a high pitched shriek before she tackled Philip’s partner. If it weren’t for Philip having a hold of Shotaro, well Shotaro would have fell.

“Akiko!” Shotaro cursed as he raised a fist, but did not swing.

“You mean, Narumi Akiko?” Philip asked suddenly, remembering the stories that Shotaro had told him about his ‘adopted sister’.

Akiko stepped back from Shotaro and critically studied Philip. And when he meant studied him, Philip meant Akiko walked a complete circle around him with a critical eye. That was the first time Philip had ever felt self-conscious.

“Who’s this?” Akiko finally asked, looking at Shotaro.

“This is Philip…” Shotaro said, looking Philip in the eye to see if it was ok for Shotaro to tell her his real name. Philip nodded. “He was a Sonazaki, their only son Raito. He was trapped in the same Hell I was… and he’s, well, amazing.”

Akiko surged forward and wrapped Philip in a tight, crushing hug as well. “Let’s become best friends!”

Very forward, just as Shotaro had said. “Um…best friends?”

“Well, yeah, since you two are probably going to start dating soon and get married,” Akiko said cheerfully.

Shotaro spluttered unceremoniously. “We-we…uh…it’s not like that!”

“Its nice to meet you Narumi Akiko. You come from Osaka, eh?”

“Yeah, oh have you heard of Takoyaki?”

Philip’s eyes widened. “What is Takoyaki? I have to look this up! Shotaro!”

Shotaro glared at Akiko. “You’re a cruel person!”

Philip had already disappeared into the Planetary Bookshelves before Shotaro could get a word in edgewise. “There are 3,543, 280 related results!”

“You’ve really done it now!” Shotaro shouted, threatening to hurt Akiko (maybe not actually hurt her).

“Eek! What’s with this guy? I didn’t know, I swear! You pick up weird ones!” Akiko exclaimed.

“When he gets like this, you can’t budge him a bit!” Shotaro exclaimed.

“Moshi Moshi!” Eiji exclaimed coming through the door with Ankh in tow. Terui came in right afterwards and headed straight for Akiko.

“Now that we got everything together, I want you to tell me everything,” Akiko demanded, and they had to abide by the chief’s orders after all.


End file.
